4wd Short Course proved to be the weekend’s premier class with 33 entries. Figueria earned the TQ with his Losi SCTE 2.0 but it was his teammate O’Connell, starting from the No. 2 position, who led the field through the first two laps. A bobble by O’Connell in lap four catapulted Figueria back into the top spot, where he stayed for most of the eight-minute A main. Figueria returned the favor with two minutes to go, suffering a hard crash in the big jump section in front of the driver’s stand that put O’Connell back in charge. That was all O’Connell needed, laying down a blistering final five laps for the win in his Losi SCTE with Tekin RX8 speedo and Pro 4 4600 motor, ProTek R/C Supreme Power 100c lipo battery, and super soft Panther Raptors mounted on white DE Racing Borrego wheels. Figueria held on for second despite suffering some electrical issues from the late-race crash and Jason Melfa was third.

O’Connell also found himself in an epic battle in Nitro Buggy with Schroeder, Brett Bowen, and Trevor Lund. The foursome went toe-to-toe for the first 10 minutes of the 20-minute main with the lead changing hands nine times before attrition starting taking its toll on the leaders. Bowen suffered servo problems right after the halfway point, and then O’Connell was forced to the sidelines while leading with three minutes to go, suffering a broken front end. Schroeder, who TQ’d, stayed steady throughout and earned the hard fought victory.

Other class winners included Red Patten in 2wd Mod Buggy, Greg Newman in 4wd Buggy, Melfa in 1/8 Truggy, and Tom Swaney in Novice. With a record number of entries, the race proceeds allowed the club to donate more than $2,000 to the neighboring Northern California Veterans Museum.

Built approximately five years ago by a strong local RC racing community, Rattlesnake Raceway (http://www.rattlesnakerc.com) is located at 3747 Meadowview Drive in Redding, CA and features both off-road and oval racing. Jason Schurig serves as club president, and represented the facility in a first-class manner as an outstanding race director for the NCVM Benefit Race.

When it was announced that Losi was releasing the SCTE 2.0, BMiller Racing’s Lou Figueria immediately went on his A Main Hobbies.com account and pre-ordered the kit. And when it became available a couple weeks ago, Figueria express shipped his pre-order and immediately starting building it with the hope to debut it at the March Madness race at CVR Raceway in Madera, CA. The rushed build and testing proved worthwhile, as ‘Big Lou’ came away with the March Madness victory in 4×4 Open Short Course. He also managed to finish second in eBuggy.

BMiller teammate Josh O’Connell actually earned the TQ going into the eight-minute main and led the first third of the race. Kyle Turner (who ended up finishing 3rd) grabbed the lead on lap 5 and paced the field for the next five laps before a bobble allowed O’Connell to recapture the top spot in lap 11. Meanwhile, Figueria, who was able to keep traction on the loose surface throughout the weekend using a combination of Panther Raptors and Boas mounted on white DE Racing Borrego wheels, stayed steady throughout and found himself right in the mix for the stretch run.

The final six laps produced an epic battle between O’Connell and Figueria, as the teammates and friends were never separated by more than two seconds on the sprawling, big-air layout. Running his fastest laps in the late stages, Figueria found himself right on O’Connell’s bumper with one lap to go. The decisive move came in the back section of the track when O’Connell maintained his regular line through the rolling triples while Figueria decided to square up off the turn and launch it and hold on. Figueria made the pass in the air and then it was a drag race to the finish line with Figueria winning by just over a second.

A Main Hobbies is putting Chico, California on the worldwide RC map in 2013, and the impressive slate of primetime competitions opened this past weekend with the running of the 4th Annual Outback Shootout at Outback Raceway. The BMiller Race Team made the short trek for the Shootout and came away with a banner showing, tallying four class victories and nine podiums overall.

Justin Moon, a former professional full scale open wheel formula BMW and champ car driver, has been on the verge of a breakout since returning to RC racing two years ago, and he may have gotten it at the Outback Shootout with a victory in Open 2wd Buggy. Driving a T2 Evo buggy from Team C with power provided by a Gen 2 9.5 motor and RS speedo from Tekin and the recently released ProTek R/C Supreme Power 100c Shorty Pack, Moon earned the TQ with four strong rounds of qualifying. In the eight-minute A main he led from start to finish and was the only driver to lay down 32 laps. 14-year-old BMiller Racing teammate Nathan Bernal registered the fastest lap of the race at 15.014 and made a strong charge at the end of the main to finish second just three seconds back of Moon, while A Main Hobbies pro driver Tyler Vik placed third.

Just prior to the Open 2wd Buggy main, the up-and-coming Bernal pulled out a dramatic victory in 2wd Stock Buggy with a borrowed Team Associated B4.2 that was built only hours before qualifying on Saturday. Starting from the No. 2 spot on the grid, Bernal (who also finished 3rd in Open 4wd buggy) trailed teammate Terry Wickum through much of the eight-minute main but strung together a series of impressive late-race laps with a Tekin Gen 2 17.5 motor and RS speedo and ProTek R/C Supreme Power 100c Shorty Pack to eventually take the top spot in the final minute and register a comfortable winning margin. Wickum held on for second while another standout Team Associated youngster, Tanner Matesa, finished third.

Open 4wd Short Course provided the most entertaining races throughout the weekend, and the eight-minute A main did not disappoint. BMiller Racing’s Josh O’Connell started in the second spot on the grid behind teammate Patrick Zhao, who led for the first two minutes. In lap seven, however, O’Connell took advantage of a Zhao miscue and never looked back, guiding his Losi SCTE in consistent fashion behind the power of Tekin electronics (Pro 4 4600 and RX8) and a ProTek R/C Supreme Power 100c Hard Case lipo. O’Connell had to stay aggressive and focused throughout because Team Tekno and A Main Hobbies factory driver Austin Blair was all over him before settling for runner-up honors. Zhao held on for third place, while BMiller drivers Wickum and Lou Figueria finished fourth and fifth, respectively. All four BMiller drivers in 4wd SCT were mounted on Borrego wheels from DE Racing.

Figueria and Zhao also provided an epic battle in Open 2wd Short Course with the top of the box undetermined until the final turn. Zhao earned the TQ with a borrowed Associated SC10 stocked with a Tekin 8.5 and RS speedo and ProTek lipo and led for most of the eight-minute A main. But Figueria, who was driving team owner Brad Miller’sLosi 22SCT with Tekin 10.5 Gen 2 motor and RS Pro speedo and ProTek lipo, was on a mission from his No. 6 qualifying spot. Hanging around in the middle of the pack in the early going, Figueria started to make his move up the charts at the midway point but still trailed Zhao by five seconds. With one minute to go he had closed to within three seconds and then found himself right on Zhao’s bumper with one lap to go when Zhao got tangled with lapped traffic. The two battled as the crowd amped up with Figueria making the hero pass on the final straight to earn the victory. Randy Pike of Team Tekin and Panther Tires rounded out the podium in third. All three podium finishers in Open 2wd SCT had their tires mounted on DE Racing Borrego wheels.

With two world-class facilities, A Main Hobbies will be the hub of RC off-road action in 2013. More than 10 premier competitions will be held in Chico at Silver Dollar R/C Raceway and Outback Raceway, highlighted by the JConcepts Summer Indoor Nationals in July (7/13-14), ROAR 1/10 Electric Off-Road Nationals in August (8/8-11) and IFMAR Electric Buggy World Championships in September (9/22-29).

BMiller Racing recently hosted a pair of unique match races as part of the weekly club racing program at LSR Speedway in Sacramento. Titled the ProTek R/C Challenge Cup, the evening’s top modified buggy drivers took on the premier 17.5 stock buggy drivers in one match race, while in short course the leading Pro 2 competitors faced off against the top Pro 4 racers. A brand new ProTek R/C Supreme Power lipo battery pack from A Main Hobbies was awarded to the winner of each race.

The 17.5 Buggy vs. Pro Buggy Challenge Cup was up first with the top five qualifiers from the heats in both classes participating in the 15-lap dash. With the 17.5 TQ driver taking the pole, the five 17.5 qualifiers took off at the tone with the five Pro Buggy competitors taking chase after a nine-second delay.

Nathan Lavery, the 17.5 TQ, led the field through the first three laps but a rollover took him out of contention, and allowed BMiller Racing’s Josh O’Connell to take the lead in his 17.5 buggy. Meanwhile, the Pro Buggy drivers were in full chase mode, paced by BMiller drivers Eddie and Nathan Bernal. O’Connell held off the Bernal duo until 14-year-old Nathan executed a sweet inside pass to take the top spot in lap 12. A smooth final two-and-a-half laps gave the younger Bernal the title and a brand new ProTek R/C Supreme Power 70c Shorty Pack. Eddie Bernal went on to finish second with BMiller Racing’s Terry Wickum taking the final podium spot with his 17.5 buggy.

The Pro 2 vs. Pro 4 Short Course Challenge Cup was equally as thrilling with the top five 2wd SCTs taking off with a nine-second head start over the top five 4wd qualifiers.

Cameron Kerndt earned the pole as TQ in Pro 2, and used the advantage to take a big lead in the first half of the 15-lap sprint. But meanwhile the Pro 4 chase group was in full effect, paced by BMiller drivers Lou Figueria and O’Connell. It was Figueria who found himself picking off the Pro 2 group first, and by lap 10 had Kerndt in his sites. But Kerndt was on rails with his Associated SC10 and was able to hold onto the top spot until lap 12 when Figueria piloted his Losi SCTE into the lead and the eventual win. Kerndt ended up finishing second with O’Connell third. For his efforts, Figueria won a ProTek R/C Supreme Power 70c Hard Case Battery Pack.

More than 125 entrants hit the track for the first-ever Outback Raceway Fall Brawl on the A Main Hobbies campus in Chico, California. With many of the top drivers from Northern California taking part in the two-day extravaganza, the action at the world-renowned indoor facility was fast and furious on a flowing layout comprised of extremely high-bite clay.

BMiller Racing’s Brian Strange won the premier Open 2wd Buggy event as well as the Open Stadium Truck title, and teammate Patrick Zhao took home the 4wd Short Course crown. In all, BMiller Racing grabbed seven podium finishes.

Coming off Top 30 finishes in 2wd buggy, 4wd buggy and stadium truck at the ROAR SuperNationals back in August, Strange has only gotten faster as the calendar inches towards what promises to be an eventful 2013 for the Sacramento, Calif., resident. Facing a number of the area’s top buggy drivers at the Fall Brawl, Strange lapped the entire field in his Losi TLR 22 powered by a ProTek R/C Supreme Power 70c shorty pack. With Panther Burner Slicks mounted on white DE Racing Borrego wheels, Strange started in the second qualifying spot but was in the lead by the end of lap one. He ran the first 12 laps in nearly flawless manner, laying down either a 17 or 18 second mark in each of those laps, and never looked back. BMiller Racing’s Justin Moon posted one of his finest career showings to finish second in the feature race, while Team Associated factory driver Eric Albano was third.

BMiller Racing’s other podium finishes came from Terry Wickum’s second in Stock 2wd Buggy and Open 2wd Short Course and Eddie Bernal’s second place showing in 4wd Buggy.

Other event class winners included Nathan Lavery in Stock 2wd Buggy, Chris Jarosz in 4wd Buggy, Moberly in Open 2wd Short Course, Chris Ularte in Stock 2wd Short Course, and Raysen Chunn in the Kids Class.

Twelve members of the BMiller Race Team made the trip to Chico, California to take part in the 3rd Annual JConcepts Summer Indoor Nationals at A Main Hobbies’ Outback Raceway. Representing supporting sponsors A Main Hobbies, DE Racing, and Panther Tires, team drivers Terry Wickum and Brian Strange led an impressive BMiller team showing that included one class TQ and 13 qualifications into A main events. Read More

Traction Raceway and Hobbies in Reno has been open for a year now, and to celebrate their first year of racing, ownership decided to host the 1st Annual Traction Raceway Showdown. The two-day event generated more than 150 entries and featured outstanding racing action at both the expert and sportsman levels. Read More

The April Fools Classic is the second oldest active race currently held in the United States, attracting many of the nation’s fastest drivers. Qualifying will take place on Friday (Apr. 27) and Saturday (Apr. 28) with the mains on Sunday (Apr. 29). Strange will register for three modified pro classes, 2wd buggy, 4wd buggy, and stadium truck. Figueria will focus solely on his specialty, 4wd short course. Both Strange and Figueria, representing team sponsors A Main Hobbies, ProTek R/C, DE Racing wheels, and Panther tires, will be making their first trip to Utah to take part in the prestigious April Fools Classic.